Tag Archives: unique play doughs

While Gracen napped this afternoon, I decided to finally put the bag of marshmallows I’ve been carting around for the last couple of weeks to good use. And oh my word, am I ever glad I did!

I originally came across this post via Pinterest and immediately fell in love with the idea of marshmallow dough. As insane as it sounds, I often find myself thinking, hmmm…. what can we mix with cornstarch today? (Totally crazy, I know.) We’ve tried water, shampoo, and hair gel, but I had never thought of marshmallow goo before! I filed the idea away and knew it would make for an extra special day one day soon. Today, when it came time to make it, rather than retrieving my computer from the other end of the house and pulling up the recipe, I decided to wing it. And I must say, it turned out really well. Turns out that our dough is missing 2 of the ingredients in the original recipe, but I think it would turn out well either way. The finished product is soft to the touch, yet firm, tacky, but not so sticky that it makes a mess of your hands, and it smells absolutely amazing – like Rice Krispie treats or cotton candy.

With the dough made, I set out a few fun things to explore it with on Grae’s little picnic table outside. Included were some sundae cups and spoons, a knife, some heart-shaped cookie cutters, some birthday candles, some sugar crystals, and some candy sprinkles. Then it was time to wait for the little miss to wake up.

I was so anxious for her to discover the play invitation I’d set up that it was just my luck that she’d ask to stay in her room for quiet play time upon waking up, rather than coming out and getting her afternoon started like she normally does. ☺ When she did come out of her room though, she spotted the marshmallow dough station through the window almost immediately. Her eyes lit up with excitement and curiosity and she was off to play.

After a little bit of cutting and pulling, it was straight to the candy sprinkles – and who can blame her really? They’re just so darn colourful and fun-looking!

Of course, what pairs better with sprinkles than birthday candles?

I think she may be getting anxious for the birthday party that’s happening next weekend…

The really cool thing about marshmallow dough is that other than being soft and smooth and smelling {and tasting!} delicious, it has an incredible amount of stretch. It can be pulled and pulled and pulled without breaking. Even when you’re trying very hard, as Miss G clearly is in this photo. ☺

Though it’s quite a bit firmer and stickier than a regular play dough, it still cuts well with cookie cutters, which Grae was pleased about.

And the plus side to the slightly sticky nature of the dough is that candy sprinkles cling to it really well.

Next up was some cutting practice. Gracen really enjoys cutting, and I really should have brought out a sharper knife for her to continue practicing with, but a butter knife did work. Because the dough is quite heavy, it provides a good amount of resistance, which is great for building up those little hand muscles.

Gracen loved exploring marshmallow dough, and though I really don’t want her eating corn-syrup filled marshmallows just yet, the beauty of this play material is that it is fully edible, so you don’t have to worry about little ones who are inclined to put things in their mouths getting sick if they do sneak a taste.

One thing to keep in mind is that because marshmallow goo eventually does set, you’re really only guaranteed one day of supple, mouldable dough. For us, this wasn’t a issue as Grae played with it for a good long time and I felt we got more than enough play out of it to be worth the cost of the ingredients and the effort that went into making it.

If you’d like to make your own batch (which you certainly should!), here’s our modified version…

Over medium heat, melt coconut oil in a pot. Once liquid, add the entire bag of marshmallows. Stir frequently until marshmallows are completely melted.

Working quickly, divide the marshmallow mixture into four bowls (approximately 1 cup per bowl) and stir in 3 drops of liquid food colouring into each. Add 3/4 of a cup of cornstarch to each bowl to start. Using a spoon, stir vigorously until marshmallow goo and cornstarch begin to come together. Use your hands to knead in the extra cornflour once the dough is cool enough to handle. If needed, add an extra 1/4 of cornstarch to each bowl to firm up the dough, however, be careful not to add too much as the dough will become overly hard.

Enjoy!

♥

For extra fun, like us on Facebook here and find us on Instagram here.